Do Advertorials Really Help SEO, or Are They Just Extra Cost?

What is an advertorial, and why did it become popular?

Google’s view and what practitioners say

Common SEO myths in Iran about paid placements

Do advertorials still have an effect?

How much does an advertorial cost in Iran?

Advertorials as digital PR

Alternatives and complements to a paid placement

A short case study for an online store

A checklist for buying a placement the smart way

How do you measure whether it worked?

Every online business, ecommerce stores and startups especially, needs to be visible in Google’s results in order to grow. One of the most common link building routes in Iran is the advertorial (a paid editorial placement). The question that matters is this: does it genuinely strengthen SEO, or is it simply a heavy cost that mostly ends up in the pockets of the media outlets? This article answers that using Google’s current guidance, what SEO practitioners say, Iranian examples, the usual myths and a cost estimate.

• What is an advertorial, and why did it become popular?

  An advertorial is promotional content written in the shape of an article or a news item, published on another website, and usually carrying several links to your site. What separates it from banner advertising is the editorial framing — it is read as content and does not feel like a direct ad.

  • Why it took off in Iran: the chance of a permanent link, a dependable revenue stream for the outlets, and the expectation of fast ranking growth.
  • What store owners and startup founders use it for: brand building, referral traffic and more variety in the backlink profile.

• Google’s view and that of SEO practitioners

  Google’s position

  Google has stressed repeatedly, in its link spam policies, that any link created in exchange for money is “unnatural” and has to be marked with rel="sponsored" or nofollow attributes. The purpose of an advertorial, in Google’s eyes, should be “informing readers and building the brand”, not manipulating rankings.

  What international practitioners say

  • The branding approach: when the placement is part of a PR strategy, it is worth running even with a nofollow link.
  • The link-centric risk: leaning on advertorials as your only link building method is short-term and risky.

  The view from Iranian practitioners

  Opinions are split. One group calls them necessary to compete in tough markets; another calls them low-impact and expensive over the long run — unless they sit inside a comprehensive SEO and PR program.

• Common SEO myths in Iran about paid placements

  • “The more the better”: a large number of links on weak sites carries no value. Domain quality, topical relevance and variety matter more.
  • “Paid placements by themselves are enough”: without on-page SEO, site speed and strong content, even the best of them have limited effect.
  • “Pack the anchor text with keywords”: over-optimizing anchors raises the risk of an algorithmic penalty; variety and natural-looking anchors are essential.
  • “Any site that sells these placements is worth buying from”: link farms are far from rare in Iran, and links from those sources are usually ineffective or risky.

• Do advertorials still have an effect?

  Short answer: yes — if it is used properly. A placement delivers when it is part of a complete strategy, not the only link building tool in your plan.

  Advantages

  • A (usually) permanent link that can be traced back to the campaign
  • Stronger trust and brand awareness
  • More variety in the backlink profile, plus referral traffic arriving from the article

  Disadvantages

  • High prices at reputable outlets
  • The risk of a paid link being identified as one
  • A short-lived effect when there is no content strategy and no on-page SEO behind it

• How much does an advertorial cost in Iran?

  The price range depends on domain authority, traffic, where the item gets published and the link policy. Broadly, these are the bands you can observe in the Iranian market:

  • News sites and small blogs: roughly 300,000 to 1,000,000 Toman
  • Technology-focused outlets: roughly 3 to 10 million Toman
  • News agencies and national-scale outlets: roughly 10 to 30 million Toman and above

  Examples of Iranian media that sell these placements, named only so an outside reader can see the shape of the market and not as a recommendation: Digiato, Zoomit, ISNA, IRNA, Khabar Online, Mehr, Fars, Eghtesad Online, Tasnim, Asr Iran, IT Iran, Haft Sobh, Shahr Ara, Hamshahri, Fararu, Tejarat News.

  Critical notes: some outlets change the link status after a while, or archive and then delete the page. Put the contract and the link policy (dofollow/nofollow/sponsored) in writing and keep a saved copy of the published page.

• Advertorials as digital PR

  If you see this only as buying links, its value stays limited. Look at it through a PR lens and it can deliver more:

  • Announcing real news: a product or feature launch, a funding round, a research report
  • More trust: visibility on a credible outlet even when the link is marked nofollow
  • A network effect: secondary coverage in other outlets and the natural links that follow

• Alternatives and complements to a paid placement

  • Data-driven, unique content: case studies, statistical reports and free tools that earn links on their own.
  • Targeted guest posting: on specialist blogs that are relevant and whose reader profile matches yours.
  • Digital PR campaigns: working with outlets and influencers around a genuinely newsworthy story.
  • Natural local links: taking part in events, sponsorships and legitimate listings — not low-quality directories.
  • Social distribution: using social networks to spread the content and create indirect signals.

• A short case study for an online store

  A home-appliance retailer with a budget of 20 million Toman:

  1. Scenario A: two advertorials in one large news agency — wide visibility, but few links and probably generic and off-topic.
  2. Scenario B: 8–10 advertorials in home and consumer-electronics specialty outlets — stronger topical relevance, better CTR, higher chance of conversion.
  3. Scenario C: a mix of 5 advertorials + 5 guest posts + 1 data report — balance between branding, link building and organic visibility.

  The outcome: topical relevance, domain diversity and content coverage usually return more than a few very large but irrelevant outlets do.

• A checklist for buying a placement the smart way

  • Topical fit between the outlet and your business
  • Domain quality: history, real traffic, no link-farm pattern
  • Link policy: dofollow/nofollow/sponsored and how long the page stays up
  • Where it goes live: the main section of the site, not a weak archive subdomain
  • Writing rules, content length, and the number and type of anchor texts
  • Structural tags in place (headings, schema markup where possible)
  • Editing rights, publication timing and reporting (a live link and a screenshot)
  • Tracking: UTM parameters for traffic, parameters for sales or sign-ups
    

    How do you measure whether it worked?

    • Referral traffic: the clicks and user behavior coming off the placement page, including bounce rate and time on site.
    • Organic impressions and CTR: movements in Search Console for the target pages and keywords.
    • The link profile: the quality of the linking domains and how natural the anchors look.
    • Business goals: leads, sales and sign-ups measured against what the placement cost (CPA, ROAS).
    • Link durability and integrity: periodic monitoring for a link whose status changed or a page that disappeared.

Summary

The advertorial is a powerful but two-edged tool. Used purely to buy links it carries real risk, and over the long run it is usually not the optimal spend. Used inside a comprehensive program — on-page SEO, genuinely valuable content, smart distribution and digital PR — it can leave a positive mark on both rankings and how the audience remembers you.

Final advice for store managers and startup founders: spread the budget, put quality and topical fit above volume, choose natural-looking anchors, have the outlet’s link policy stated clearly, and be sure to measure the effect against defined KPIs.

Omid Bodagh

I am an SEO specialist who likes helping businesses get seen on Google. From WordPress to SEO, whatever an online business needs to grow, I can help with it.